Monday, 21 March 2016

Click on the video { Harry Nilsson ...... I took him home once after a general anaesthetic and had to look after him in his Mayfair flat where Mama Cass Elliot and Keith Moon both died !! } and have a look at a few of my memories .....

my friend's and I would go to Alexandra Palace roller skating rink and skate all day.

School milk was part of school life. In Post War Britain, school milk, 1/3 of a pint per child, was introduced in schools to supplement the child's diet. Most children detested it but I loved it !!

In the winter, it was common to see outside schools, crates of milk with their shiny bottle tops standing proud above the bottles on a column of frozen milk !!! The milk was then placed by the radiator to defrost, the result of which was a 1/3 pint of warm, watery milk !!

If I wasn't at Alexandra Palace roller skating rink on a Saturday, then I was at Saturday Morning Pictures. It was very popular and relatively cheap. Our local cinema was The Savoy which was part of the ABC group. We children were known as the ABC Minors. First we would join the enormous queue, then rush into the theatre which had red plush seats and impressive decorated facades ..... hundreds of excited, expectant schoolchildren, all waiting for the performance to begin which started with us singing .....

..... The ABC Minors Song !!!

The final line was shouted at full blast ..... especially the A-B-C !!

The Corona Man.

The Corona Lorry would come down the street once a week selling Corona fizzy drinks ...... Orangeade, Limeade, Raspberryade ..... every 'ade' you can think of and the famous Dandelion and Burdock ! You also got money back on the empty bottles ! It was quite a special treat to have fizzy pop in the fifties !!

Another visitor to the street was the Knife grinder ..... I can remember my Dad giving him knives and tools to sharpen.

The Betterware Man used to knock now and again, trying to get my mum to buy something. I always wanted her to buy a large tin of wax polish as you got the tiny miniature tin of lavender polish free !! I loved those little tins.

Finally, do you remember Punch and Judy toothpaste ? We didn't have it very often as it was too expensive but, now and again, we would have a tube. I can still taste it now !!

64 comments:

I wasn't around in the 50s but many of those things were still around in late 60 and early 70s. The school milk and the punch and Judy toothpaste. I had chocolate milk at my preschool in the late 60s. Spoilt.

I think there must have been a Corona man in the village where my mother was born. Whenever we visited my Aunt seemed to have every flavour under the sun. And she still used a mangle. I remember that vividly.

So many Jacqueline. Never tried that toothpaste and our skates weren't as safe as yours. They fit over the tennis shoe like a clamp and had a key that tightened it. It would always come loose though and down we'd go with skinned knees. Love seeing all of those old pictures.

I wasn't born in the 50's.....i can remember schoolmilk...but That is it........always hard to comment on your blog...it come through the snow i am affraid...i try and try but it all is so slow.........enjoy spring love from me Ria x

The Corona lorry came on a Friday night. The knife grinder came on his bicycle and he wore a suit and a trilby (and there was still one on a bicycle around here in the early 80s who looked just the same). The Bettaware catalogue still comes through the door. In my first job the Gestetner salesman used to arrive on a bicycle selling the kit for the duplicator and carbon paper and there was no such thing as a photocopier. I used to stamp, check and sign the documentation for exports from the UK as a 17 year old and my signature was circulated around all the foreign embassies. Might come in handy again if we come out of the EU! Thanks for the memories Jackie.x

Oh Jackie such great memories I remember them all . The worst memory was the milk in winter. heated on the radiators to thaw . I can smell it now it made me heave. Loved seeing the knife sharpener man on his bicycle . What about the rag & bone man with his horse and cart, I used to love when he gave me a goldfish for a load of old clothes, however the fish always died the next day. I never had any skates of my own , I used to use one of my friends and scoot along. Lovely trip down memory lane, thanks Jackie.

I would have much preferred the milk icy cold Barbara !!!! ... and I forgot about the rag and bone man. We still have one that comes down our street ringing his bell. I can remember winning goldfish at the fair and they never lasted more than a couple of days. XXXX

Which one of you had the general anaesthetic? Oh yes, I remember all of that, and I had Punch and Judy toothpaste, much good that it did me. Mr Punch was famous for swinging a great club at Judy's head, which is not a good advert for dental care, I would have thought. And just how did they get those stripes in Signal?

Haha .... are you questioning my use of the English language Tom ?!!!! I think that my favourite flavour of Punch and Judy toothpaste was banana and it was not the best toothpaste for teeth ..... my Dad used Eucryl which was so abrasive it rubbed most of the enamel away !! I think that I saw a documentary once that showed how they put the stripes in Signal ..... for a small fee I'll let you in on the secret. XXXX

Great pictures, and great memories of you! I wasn't born in the Fifties, but I love their design! Some professions just vanished - the man who bought iron&paper (though they return now, in a different outfit), the man who on Sundays sold "Easterly garnets"" and the elevator-operator... Harry Nilsson's record was brought by husband's sister (she lived in America) when she visited us I think in the Eighties, I think, and she predicted that he would become famous. At that time he called himself just "Harry".

We lived on a prefab estate in Torquay after the war - landscaping was done by German POW's - they made sweet little carved wooden brooches for us. Friday evenings the Fish 'n Chip van came and parked at the end of the street - loved that! Corona lorry also came - and the Wall's Ice Cream van.Did you get those milk tablets at school later? I hated them, especially banana flavored ones.Always went to Sat. morning pictures at the Regal cinema - lots of American Westerns. Walked up the hill afterwards to have lunch at my Grandma's flat - she was diabetic and let me share her Energen rolls with a bowl of mushroom soup! Oh what memories you have stirred - I'm shedding a few tears Jacqueline!

I have a vague recolection of the milk tablets but they obviously didn't make much impression Mary !!!! As well as the Westerns at Saturday morning pictures, I remember Hercules Unchained !!! .... and those Energen rolls ..... they were mostly air !!Sorry I made you cry Mary !!!!! XXXX

Hello Jackie,What a charmed childhood skating around and living life to the fullest. This, sadly cannot happen today. We grew up in rural Ireland on a farm and have fond memories of riding horses, donkeys, mules and such. Much different from your life but with our share of fun.Good girl for taking care of Harry Nilssen. A tough job but someone had to do it. Hugs Helen xx

We did all play out all day, didn't we Helen ? Your childhood in Ireland sounded idyllic and most of our childhoods didn't involve lots of money either ..... no electronic devices or designer clothes !!! XXXX

Wait a second. You took Harry Nilsson home???? How did that happen? I absolutely love Harry Nilsson. He had such a beautiful sweet soulful voice. Please tell me that he was a nice person. Here in the States we had school milk, too. I loved when it was frozen. And roller skates. But ours required a key which you wore around your neck on a string and it swung back and forth as you skated. Harry Nilsson. Wow. I'm impressed!

I can tell you that he was really nice Connie and his sister { actually I think she was his half sister} came later and she was nice too.Our roller skates had a key too that made them bigger when your feet grew !! XXXX

Wonderful Jackie . . . just wonderful . . . Loved hearing REMEMBER . . .One memory I have is visiting my grandparents home . . .Very young, maybe 6 or 7 and my first visit without my parents being there.Soooooo home sick . . . In the early morning I can remember hearing the horses pulling the milk truck and stopping at my grandparents house to deliver the milk. I can still hear that clomp clomp sound of the horses . . .I think my fondest memory is of ice skating at the creek pond near the local cemetery.All my friends were there too . . . we would skate for hours . . . Thank you for stirring my memories . . .Loved your skate memories!

I think that roller skating was more popular than ice skating here Lynne as we didn't have the weather for ice skating and there were only a few ice skating rinks. I could have shared more memories but I didn't want to bore everyone !!! XXXX

My husband used to tell me about the man that sharpened scissors / knives etc in NYC when he was a child. I grew up in the South, in the 60s .. so much of the charm of city life was missing, although there was charm in growing up outside of a big city too.I very clearly remember "stealing " a horse :)Our neighbor let me curry and feed and generally live with his horse .. one day I decided to ride her too. No saddle, I just climbed on and held on for dear life. She knew, she was slow and gentle .. maybe not as safe as skating but it was fun ..

I guess that there were knife sharpeners in many countries Candice. .... and, I'm sure that growing up in the country was lovely. We lived on the outskirts of London so we had the best of both worlds.You have obviously loved animals all of your life. XXXX

I was brought up out in the country, and we used to have a lot of Gypsies who called. They sold clothes-line props, pegs, wax flowers pressed on to twigs, and a few other things we never wanted. I still have a pair of skates like yours!

Oh Cro ...... I have skate envy !!! I wish that I still had my 'Jaco' skates. I used to use them SO much that the red leather wore out pretty quickly. I think that I regularly had a pair for Christmas. XXXX

English childhood of the 1950s sounds absolutely charming and I picture it all in sepia. In the US, growing up in the suburbs without sidewalks, we rode our bikes instead of skating. I remember I would get in trouble if I wasn't home in time to sit down to dinner at 6:00. Otherwise no one cared where I was. We couldn't actually go anywhere, so we played in the woods and down by the creek. On spring evenings all the kids played in the street. Because there wasn't room for a baseball diamond, we just ran back and forth between two bases. Sort of a mix of baseball and cricket. In the summer we were all packed off to 8 weeks of overnight camp while our parents had wild pool parties.

It wasn't as idyllic as it sounds Shawn, but good fun most of the time. We used to play down by the river and dared each other to walk through the tunnels !! .... and, we used to ride our bikes round the block on the pavement and then to the park and put candlewax on the slide to make it more slippery !! .... I could go on !! haha.. XXXX

I remember most of those, though not the Corona man or Punch and Judy toothpaste. I remember the rag and bone man, and Gibbs Dentifrice. I remember all the old radio programmes too - Hancock's Half Hour, Take It From Here, Beyond Our Ken. I loved them.

Oh yes Nick ....... We used to listen to all of those at Sunday lunchtime I think { loved Beyond our Ken as well } and later in the evening it was The Navy Lark and Sing Something Simple !!! ...... and my mum used to like winkles for tea !! XXXX

I had those skates too, although I think they reached the west of Ireland 20 years after they had gone out of fashion elsewhere. Looking back, you realise you were a member of a tribe, although back then you were just simply you.

How true Mise ..... it was just kid's playing normally wasn't it ? { although your's was many years after mine !! haha } I think that I missed your last post Mise ..... so sorry, belated happy St Patricks Day to you ..... I hope that the Guinness flowed. XXXX

The fifties! It depends if it’s the beginning or the end of the decade. At the beginning of the 50s there were still street singers coming to our apartment building (near Montmartre.) I would send them coins from our window. In the mid-50s I took the ferry for the first time to visit London with a group of children and stayed 1 week in an English family. My skates looked like those on the picture, and I would skate on the alleys of the Louvre gardens. By the end of the 50s I was a teenager and would go dancing in the jazz cellars of Paris. We did not get milk delivered though, we had a creamery-cheese stop at the corner. I enjoyed your memories.

Oh, Jackie, you so often have a way of making my heart swoon with wistfulness. I LOVE reading your memories of a bygone era and examining the INCREDIBLE photos you somehow seem to find. Wow. I mean, how on earth did you find the ABCs video and song? Amazing.

that Punch and Judy toothpaste looks like it could have been designed to day with its use of negative space, etc. I feel honoured to get a glimpse into something that was apparently not around that long.

I loved getting our milk bottles at school (in the 70's). And like you, i actually loved mine, even though I never liked the milk at home that would also come in (bigger) bottles. I remember the times it would snow a wee bit and/or seeing the brightly covered foil tops pecked off by the birds. It always seemed to magical to wake up to such a scene missed, as if missing fairies at work.

Yes, I used to have some old metal roller skates when I was kid too. so enjoyed those.

While I know was harder then for so many (not that it is easy now, mind you, but far more convenient), I almost wish we were back in those days. It seems simpler, even kinder but I'm likely just romanticizing. IT also seems FAR more English in manners than England of today.

You know, I think I have heard that song by Harry Nilsson but it must have been when I was very very young. How incredible that you got to help him back to his flat and in Mayfair, no less. What history there. Speaking of that, when we lived in Earl's Court, our flat was once owned by Winston Churchill's daughter. I always loved that.

Speaking of songs. I think you would enjoy hearing Alexandra's singing on this new app she found (Smule): http://wwww.smule.com/Alexs_heart. :)

Oh Michael ... I sound like an old woman reminiscing .... hang on, I AM an old woman reminiscing !!!!I found the ABC minors song on YouTube and was suprised as you are that it was on there !! ... and, you can still buy Punch and Judy toothpaste believe it or not !! I think we liked the milk because i was always starving and, you didn't have to do any work when you were drinking it !!I think that every generation looks back with fondness but I'm sure times were quite difficult after the war but it was just normal life for us. It was a simpler time but I don't think it was quite so complicated back then. I don't know if you and Alexandra have watched ' You've Got Mail ' but that Harry Nilsson song was in it. It's gone midnight here so I'll have a listen to Alexandra tomorrow. Nite nite. XXXX

I had those skates too. I used to love school milk, it's a shame they stopped it. My two older boys had school milk when we moved here in 99, but it was in cartons not bottles, which is probably just as well.;-) Have a lovely Easter Jackie.xx

Oh Jackie ~ love these memories of yours! We had Watkins and the Rawleigh man that came around down at the farm. The mentholatum came in a big flat tin and when we were sick it was smeared on our chests and backs. They sold spices and lotions and potions galore. Milk in glass bottles delivered to the door and visiting the Pop Shoppe ~ this only happened on special occasions when Mom would get a case of 24. We would wander the aisles picking our favourites ~ mine was black cherry and creme soda ~ my brother would choose lime rickey and grape.

Hi Lori,My favourite was cream soda too and it was only on special occasions that we had it. Seems like we all had similar traditions ..... we had Vick's vapour rub smeared all over us !!!!! Hope you're enjoying the Easter break ...... I just know you will be eating some yummy food !! Much love. XXXX

I grew up in the 60's and 70's and rode my bike everywhere, went to the roller skate rink every Saturday, went to the movies as often as I could. Such a fun childhood! I remember the bread truck and the donut truck driving down the street honking their horns and we'd run out and not to forget the fabulous ice cream truck too....Wonderful childhood memories. I hope your Easter was wonderful dear Jackie! xxoo

My bike was up there with my roller skates Cathi !!!!!! I loved them both and played on them 'till the leather gave way on my skates and my bike got too small for me !! I don't like to live in the past but I think that they were healthier times ...... no sitting indoors with an electronic game ! Hope your Easter was lovely too. Sending love from sunny old England. XXXX

Oh Jackie, wiping away the tears. This flooded my memories, the people, sounds, smells and songs. The Tool and Knife sharpener wagon, the music from the ice cream wagon, the sound of the Milk Wagon and tinkle of the glass bottles.Those days the Encyclopedia salesman and Fuller Brush man were the only people that ever rang the doorbell, if Mamma was home we could answer the door. If not yellleave a note.Saturday Movies 1945-50 were big time. Everyone had a pea shooter and we saw 3 movies, it was wild and crazy times. If my chores were not done I didn't get 35 cents for the Sat. show. I believe in progress but, 25 flavors, artificial intelligence, drones, buyer beware. Hugs from Maine. yvonne

Oh Yvonne .... I didn't mean to make you cry !!!!!! They were mostly happy times for me and very simple and carefree and as I said to Cathi above, much healthier as we were out and about all day weren't we ? Much love. XXXX

We may have grown up on opposite sides of the pond but we still had many of the same experiences growing up. I lived in Idaho's capitol city and I remember the milk at school and movie theaters and of course I had the same skates that I was always losing the key to and was always borrowing everyone else's key. We didn't have a corona man but we did have the ice cream man who would come down our street every other day of the summer holiday. No wonder I was such a chubby little girl. I am so grateful to have grown up when I did. It was truly a magical time for children.Thanks for the sweet memories my friend!much love...